BJP picks Ujjain MLA Mohan Yadav as Madhya Pradesh chief minister

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday named Ujjain South MLA Mohan Yadav as the new chief minister-elect.

“I am a small worker of the party. I thank all of you, the state leadership and the central leadership. With your love and support, I will try to fulfil my responsibilities,” Yadav said.

The 58-year-old leader was named as the leader of BJP legislative party at the meeting held at the BJP headquarters in Bhopal.

Meanwhile, Jagdish Deora and Rajendra Shukla have been named Deputy CMs of the state, and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar Speaker of the Assembly.

During the meeting, BJP observers including Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, BJP OBC Morcha president K Laxman and national secretary Asha Lakra discussed the names with the victorious MLA-elects.

Who is Mohan Yadav?

Born on March 25, 1965, in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, Mohan Yadav has been associated with the BJP for many years. Besides his political endeavours, he is also known as a businessman.

Yadav, who is the Higher Education Minister in the outgoing government, won from the Ujjain Dakshin constituency in the 2023 Madhya Pradesh elections. He was first elected as an MLA in 2013.

Yadav's anointment as the chief minister elect comes 10 days after the saffron party swept the Madhya Pradesh Assembly election by winning 163 of 230 seats, successfully beating anti-incumbency. The BJP had contested the election for the first time in 20 years without a chief ministerial face.

Once sworn-in, Yadav will be the fifth chief minister from the BJP after Sunderlal Patwa, Uma Bharti, Babulal Gaur and Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Of these, Chouhan served as CM for more than 16 years.